Just 16,000 students were named Semifinalists in this year’s competition, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced in a press release today.

The students were chosen as Semifinalists from some 1.6 million high school juniors who took the 2017 Preliminary SAT / National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Semifinalists represent the highest-scoring entrants in each state, and fewer than one percent of all entrants are named Semifinalists, according to the NMSC.

Finalists will be announced in early 2018. Those who earn Finalist honors will be eligible for approximately 7,500 scholarships worth more than $32 million, the NMSC said.